


As the Seasons Change

by Poke-lover88 (TheTinyFoxtail)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Feelings Growing, FerrisWheelShipping, Ficlet Collection, Ficlets, Friendship, Growing Up, Romance, Seasons, progression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4966039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTinyFoxtail/pseuds/Poke-lover88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She saw him time after time, seasons slowly changing and emotions slowly growing. A recounting of the times White met N and how they shaped one another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Autumn

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Just a little five ficlet collection, progressing through the game for the major times these two met. I decided to base it on the seasons since the fifth gen was all about seasons changing, and I really liked that aspect of it.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D

The first time she saw him the air was cold with beginnings and the fresh smell of autumn. Easily overlooked and yet starkly contrast he stood in that heaping crowd of people, seemingly unnoticed.

She was new, inexperienced, and a little afraid of the big wide world ahead of her. She had her bag, the clothes on her back and a Tepig in her arms but really that's all she had to her name. A new start as a new trainer, something she'd pined after for years and yet when she actually stepped foot out into the forest and walked away from her quaint hometown, it was a little scary.

She wobbled into the crowd, Cheren and Bianca at her sides. No one seemed to know why people were forming a tight bunch in the middle of Accumula Town, but everyone followed in suit, wanting and pushing to find out what was going on.

She'd never heard of Pokémon liberation before, and as she listened, only hearing snippets of the talk, her starter Pokémon squealing and flinching away as people shoved against one another, she couldn't quite understand. The pure concept of willingly handing over her friends seemed as if it was a joke.

The crowd dispersed as easily as it'd formed and she was left nearly alone, accompanied by her friends and staring at a tall boy, staring back at her. Their eyes met for a brief moment, confused blue against a lost grey. He was lost, she could tell. Although, she didn't know how or where or even his name. He just simply looked as if he wasn't sure what to do.

Whatever doubts or confusions she'd had regarding this Pokémon liberation she'd heard of, he put to rest. He talked as fast as a fleeting thought and with the careful caress of someone who knew so much more than she could fathom.

But even though their battle, and as she watched his smooth gait as he walked away, she still had the same feeling about him. She was new, a beginner, scared and inexperienced and yet she knew one thing: he was a lost soul in a crowd of veterans. She felt lost in her own way, being so new to the world, just opening her eyes, but with one look she knew he was far more lost than she.

That cold autumn day was, in looking back, a turning point for her, although she'd never have guessed it, only thinking about how not to make mistakes and the oddly fascinating stranger in a crowd full of people told to give their partners away.


	2. Winter

The second time she met him the winds had changed. She could barely see two feet in front of her face as the white pellets of ice rained down on her, snow, ice's powdery friend blowing into her hair, and obstructing her view.

She was a beginner, and if she'd thought it through a little more thoroughly, she wouldn't have spent so much time in the forest next to Accumula. She'd taken her time, slowly training up her Tepig and making friends with the forest Pokémon, even stopping to catch a few. If she'd been thinking, she would've known that the southern part of Unova's winters were earth-shatteringly cold and that she'd be delayed by the snow.

But she was a new trainer, inexperienced and high on life. She hadn't thought ahead and now she was in Nacrene –at least she assumed it was Nacrene, she really couldn't see anything at all- and struggling to find a place to stay.

She'd looked for the Pokémon Center but ended up stumbling up steps to a tall tan building. She was looking at her toes, hoping she wouldn't trip when she ran full-force and head-first into something much larger than herself. She stumbled backwards on uncertain feet, squinting through the snow at the figure in front of her.

It was that boy. The lost boy who'd told her to give up her Pokémon. He looked slightly fazed by her, and she stumbled and stuttered over her apology. She no longer saw the lost and confused look in his eyes. He looked fairly confident now, if not maybe a little tired.

The second time she met him she was the one who was lost, in a more literal sense, without a clue as to where she was or in what direction she should be going. The second time she met him he barely said a word, rather asking one question before giving her a nod, a frown, and jogging down the steps and into the cold and blinding blizzard.

_"Have you thought any more about what I said in Accumula?"_

She'd blinked stupidly up at him before telling him she thought liberation was wrong. He'd left then, seemingly dissatisfied with her answer, although she wasn't sure why he'd care what a newbie trainer thought.

She watched into the white abyss as he walked away, continuing to stare even long after he'd disappeared from sight. Something about his voice, the way he'd presented his question, and the downright disappointed look on his face after her answer stuck in her mind.

She brought her hand up to gently touch her forehead where she'd run into him. He was… interesting. And although she figured she'd never agree with liberation, something about the look on his face made her wish she could've made him smile instead.


	3. Spring

It'd been months now, since she'd seen the boy, although he hadn't escaped her thoughts. As the weather slowly began to warm and the days slowly stretched by she half expected to run into him again, but she hadn't.

She would've liked to have said she was fine with not seeing him again, but in reality, she wasn't. She was… curious. She wanted to talk to him again and this time ask _him_ something. Why was he so for liberation? He'd looked so disappointed that she was sure he had some sort of stake in this idea. Who was he? He seemed like a drifter and yet the way he moved and talked made him seem like royalty. She wasn't sure what to think.

She slowly made her way across and drifted up the region. She collected her second and third badges with ease as well as a few more Pokémon which she trained with dedication every single day.

By the time she'd made it to Nimbasa City her thoughts of the strange green-haired boy hadn't faded, but they'd been pushed to the back of her mind, instead making way for battle strategies and tips she'd gained along her journey so far. She'd matured. She wasn't a complete stranger to the world anymore, instead, an acquaintance.

And that was when she was grabbed roughly by the arm and carted away and into the bustling crowd of Nimbasa.

She squeaked in surprise, automatically pulling away from the stranger's grip, yet his was strong and she didn't budge. In looking up she nearly fainted. She saw the mass of unruly hair associated with the boy she'd been wondering if she'd ever seen again. And in pure shock, she stumbled after him as he led her.

Her mouth opened and closed aimlessly as she fought to find words to confront him with, and yet found none. He dragged her all the way into the amusement park on the east side of the city without saying a thing, instead carting her over to the line for the Ferris wheel and slipping in, in front of others without making a sound.

He was like a ghost, in some respects. He had just inserted himself in front of a line of impatient customers and yet not a single one had seemed to notice. Whether it was because of commotion or because he was so easily overlooked, she did not know.

He gracefully took a ticket from the broker and the next moment she was inside one of the pokeball-shaped containers and slowly ascending into the sky.

She sat across from him, slowly staring into his face as his eyes flickered to anywhere but her. He peered out the window and nodded to himself, muttering something about losing them. Losing who?

The next ten minutes of her life seemed to go by in a blur and yet she'd remember every second. She sat there, so close to the boy she'd thought about nearly nonstop for months, their knees nearly touching, and her heart beating a little more erratic than usual. They sat so close, and yet by the end of their conversation she felt as if she were so far away from him she couldn't even see him anymore.

She'd never gotten up the courage to ask why he was for liberation, mainly because he answered it without prompting. He explained as she sat there quietly, who he was to Team Plasma, who he was in general, what he wanted, his qualms with the world, and finally… who she was to him.

She was the other half. Things didn't make sense to her at the time. Legendary dragons made no sense, let alone the fact that she was apparently the "other hero". Heroes made no sense either. She didn't understand a thing back then, when the ride came to a halt and he seemingly vanished into thin air in the crowd again, but she knew something was different.

She'd been curious about him, but now she was… frustrated. He hadn't stayed long enough for her to ask any of the seemingly trillions of questions floating around in her head, and that frustrated her. It frustrated her that he talked like they were friends and yet enemies at the same time, and it frustrated her that he seemed so distant now, even if they _had_ only spoken what… three times?

At the time she didn't understand any of it, instead forcing all of her confusion into a one-track mind of thinking of nothing but him and those words he'd spoken while they were high enough to seemingly see the world.


	4. Summer

The next time she saw him, the sun had made its prime debut, beating down relentlessly on the world and making everything seem blurry with heat. Since their chat on the Ferris wheel she'd changed.

She was frustrated and confused when it came to him, and after days of pondering over his every word, she decided to move on. She put their conversation and him behind her, instead focusing on her newfound goal: she wanted to be the Champion of Unova. And the only way she could get there was by practicing and battling until she was the very best. Thinking about him would only set her back.

She collected badge after badge. She had just beaten her sixth Gym in a flurry of splendor when in a blur, three men stood, blocking her path. She stared up at them, her new badge clutched tightly in her hand as they bowed slightly, explaining they were told to inform her that their "Lord N" was waiting for her in Dragonspiral Tower.

Lord N.

He'd told her he was a King. She found it hard to believe and yet glaringly obvious by the way he moved and talked. Still… calling him a lord felt… wrong.

The men claimed to be the Shadow Triad and she'd heard the name before. They were what some might call ninjas, although they looked more like assassins with their ice white hair and uncaring eyes. And when she nodded her understanding they disappeared as a whisper in the wind, without a trace.

She'd pushed the thoughts of her conversation with the strange boy out for too long, and so as she stepped with determination into the tower, she was ready to confront it. Whatever "it" was, she wasn't entirely sure, but she knew it was something big.

And as she was birthed onto the tower's roof, her eyes widening as she staggered backwards, she realized it was indeed something big. Something much bigger than her, or him, or their conversation in the Ferris wheel.

He stood with a dragon the size of a building behind him, its wings tucked underneath itself gracefully as its piercing blue eyes swept her up and down.

That was when he explained their predicament further. He told her of the story of the two brothers who fought when Unova was new. That they battled with the power of the legendary dragons beside them, and that history was to repeat itself.

He with the white dragon, her with the black. Truths and ideals battling it out till the end to decide who was right. She didn't believe in liberation, her heart was pure and true and full of love for the creatures called Pokémon and so he'd known from the start, just from feeling her bond with her partners, that she was the one to oppose him.

He left then, quickly and with a pained look on his face. The white dragon cried into the sky and propelled itself into the air, emanating power as it flew off into the distance. Her hair whipped in the wind as she struggled to keep sight of the boy and the dragon for as long as possible.

She expected her worries and confusion to be brought back to the surface. She expected to still have questions and to feel the same frustration she had after the Ferris wheel. However, she did not.

A new sense of duty and determination instead filled her heart and mind. She couldn't imagine life without her partners, even though she was still very new and had only received her first Pokémon mere months ago.

And so she'd fight. She'd somehow gain the other dragon's trust, wherever that dragon may be, and she'd face off against the boy who seemed so otherworldly. The same boy that'd filled her mind for weeks upon weeks. It was sad, that she was somehow pitted by fate against him, someone who fascinated her so, but it was her destiny, as she'd soon find.

And she knew the next time she'd see him, it would be with her own dragon, facing each other across a battlefield, ready to fight for what they believed in.


	5. As the Seasons Change

The fifth and final time she met him, the world had come full-circle. The winds of change and brisk competition filled the air with their crisp tidings. The leaves were falling again, just as the day when she'd first received a Pokémon, and first witnessed the boy that stood across the empty cavernous room now.

The world had come full-circle, as had their relationship. He'd challenged her to a battle that first day, observing her bonds, and just as back then, they'd battle again today.

However, some things for her seemed like they hadn't changed at all. She was still utterly intrigued by him, the way he moved, his past, his beliefs. He was supposedly her enemy but it was hard to call him that, especially after what she'd witnessed during her trek up the Plasma castle to confront him.

A child's room filled with toys and books full of numbers. It was eerie in a castle as grandiose as the one he was the king over, however it fit him perfectly, in a way. He was tall, lean, and moved with the grace of a seasoned being but there was something always off about him. And in seeing that room, his room, a child's room, it felt right. On the inside he was still just a scared child, afraid and confused and so sheltered from the world.

A sheltering she was about to destroy.

She was positive their battle was something to be remembered. She'd easily gained the trust of the other black dragon, and so battling with him then, even mere moments after awakening him, it felt like she'd been his trainer for years.

They moved as one, as did N and his dragon. It was a battle, devastating and violent, two things he abhorred, and yet at the same time it was beautiful.

A flurry of white feathers and black plates, colliding as brothers and heroes and completely similar opposites.

She wasn't entirely sure in the end if she'd won because of her own strengths, or if she'd won because she was right. Were her values right and so no matter what her strength she would've won? Or was she truly a prodigy who could fight for what she believed in? It was taxing and a little confusing but her mind relatively easily moved on, instead staring with an aching heart at the boy whom she'd just defeated.

He looked crushed, his eyes hollow and empty, unlike she'd ever seen before. As if his entire world and beliefs had been shattered.

Her heart beat once in her chest, a different kind of beat. It'd pumped faster around him since they'd met, it'd ached at times when she thought of him, but this beat… she knew what it meant. Not only was her heart going out to him, but it'd also made up its mind.

She'd won and he'd lost, but she was determined to give him something positive out of this as well.

She stepped toward him and he shook his head. He said few words, all heartfelt and pained and ones that would stick in her mind forever, before he turned on his heel to leave. He said he needed to find himself, and she stayed frozen to the spot as he called out his legendary partner to fly away.

She had everything now splayed out in front of her. She could become the Champion if she so chose, she had defeated Team Plasma and was a regional hero, however… those dreams that she'd had for so long, suddenly changed into one goal: help the poor lost soul that she'd somehow grown fond of.

That beat of her heart had meant one thing: she felt a connection. And it wasn't only a connection of heroes, it was a decision, made subconsciously, that perhaps they were made for one another, despite being on opposing sides of a war he would've never won.

And so with a skip and a surprising smile on her face, she ran after him, calling upon the dragon that was a personification of her values, and chasing after him with vigor.

She could make it right. She'd made things right in the region, so she could make things right with him. He was just a highly intriguing and oddly loveable boy, after all. She had handled much more difficult things.

And so she flew, following him wherever he'd take her in an effort to slowly change his outlook, slowly change his ideals to truths, or truths to ideals, as she was beginning to see that there wasn't such a difference between them, after all. She'd make his world a better place, and a place where he wasn't so alone.

Because now, he had her. No matter how many people had left him before, she was there to stay. And nothing was more rewarding than the gratefulness dripping from his eyes as tears as he looked over to see her on her dragon beside him, giving her a nod and turning over his world to her in an attempt to move on.


End file.
